3,300 Maher Cup Players or there abouts

So far 3,233 accounted for with a few others still in hiding. The latest alphabetic list of players is here. The chronological match and team members list with scorers is here.

Of these 3,233 men some 150 played in the Maher Cup for two different clubs, 19 for three clubs and just two, Clarrie Joyce and Frank Blundell played for four. Clarrie Joyce was a builder from Tumut who played in the first Maher Cup match back in 1920.  He then joined Gundagai in 1921, West Wyalong in 1923, and Cootamundra, where he settled, in 1926.  He died when still quite Young. Blundell the energetic father of squash champion Heather McKay, hailed from Queanbeyan and played there as well. He was a baker and like Joyce he had a occupation that enabled him to easily relocate his work.  Continue reading

Ron Crowe

Ron Crowe

Ron "Dookie" Crowe

Ron “Dookie” Crowe

There is probably no-one as revered in Maher Cup football as Ron Crowe.  In 1965 when he was aged just 32 the new Rugby League ground at West Wyalong was named in his honour.  When in 1962 he accepted an offer to play for Souths we all became Rabbitoh fans at Toppy school.   Ron and brother Les cut wood in the mallee country. My dad, a farmer, bought strainer posts from the Crowe brothers and used to point to them and say, they’re just like ‘Dookie’, a little bit bigger, and stronger and tougher than your regular posts.   Off the field Ron Crowe was a most gentle manContinue reading

Fred De Belin

Fred De Belin

 A young Fred De Belin in the RAAF

A young Fred De Belin in the RAAF

After the war increasingly enormous efforts were made to wrest the Holy Grail and awash local pubs, cafes and sundry businesses in Maher Cup money.

Legendary internationals with plenty of fire still in the bellies went west in the late 1940s – Joe Jorgenson to Junee, Herb Narvo to Cootamundra, Clem Kennedy to Grenfell, Nevyl Hand to Gundagai and George Watt to Boorowa. Barmedman scored probably the best man never to play for his country – Tom Kirk. The results were mixed. Narvo, Watt and Kennedy brought the Cup home – albeit all briefly. Jorgenson disappeared. Hand failed and was replaced – but phoenix-like became the inspirational leader of possibly the best side ever formed in country NSW. Fred De Belin, Kangaroo and partner with Harry Bath in the second row of Balmain’s 1946 premiership winning team, was intending to follow suit. Continue reading

Who Made The Most Maher Cup Appearances?

Below are those who in my calculation played in 50 or more Maher Cup matches.

69 matches – Lionel ‘Nick’ Cullen (Harden-Murrumburrah) – 1950 to 1970 – and still playing first grade after the Maher Cup finished.  A Harden local (Aurville), he played for over two decades for his home town with remarkable resilience and consistency. According to Eric Kuhn he was one of only two players who participated in every match in Harden-Murrumburrah’s amazing 29 Maher Cup streak from 1958-1960.  He later coached local teams and still lives in the area.

66 matches – Bill Lesberg (properly Leseberg) (Cootamundra) – 1922 to 1931. It’s quite amazing that Lesberg was aged 28 when he played his first Maher Cup match for Cootamundra and still had time to amass 66 appearances.  Victorian-born, his winter sporting interest had initially been Australian Rules – where he developed his phenomenal kicking skills.  Long, accurate, both placed and dropped goals (when the latter was worth two points), often from ridiculous angles and with either foot, resulted in ‘Berg’ being the Cup’s undisputed all-time point scorer.  Like most of the men in this list, train driver Lesberg worked and then lived his retired days in Cootamundra’s Warren Sub.

Cootamundra 1926: with eight players who qualify for the over 50 match club: Bill Leseberg (far left), Ray Sheedy (4th from left), Jack Kingston (6th), Gordon Hinton (7th), Eric Weissel (8th), Jack Watson (10th), Dade Quinlan (2nd from right), Phil Regan (at end).

66 matches – Sid Hall (Young & Bendick Murrell (one game)) – 1925 to 1945. A brilliant and tough centre for Young, Sid Hall declared his retirement from the game aged 31, in 1933.  The next year we was back as the teams’ captain-coach.  Not even the hiatus of the war years wearied him – he was part of a highly successful Cherrypickers’ Maher Cup side that reformed in 1945. He finally retired aged 43.

65 matches – Eric Weissel (Cootamundra and Temora) – 1922 to 1934 . The brilliance of ‘The Wizard’ – on display most winter Wednesdays at Cootamundra in the 1920s – probably did more than anything else to enshrine the Maher Cup with legendary status.   Although he spent all his life in the Riverina, representative games and international duties frequently took him away.  Further the vagaries of the Maher Cup draw resulted in his adopted club Temora being granted no challenge for two years between July 1927 and July 1929, when the team turned their attention to other challenge cups in play, particularly the Jack Hore Gold Cup. In 1930 Temora created their own Eric Weissel Cup – which is still in play.
65 matches – Ray ‘Rawbones’ Sheedy (Cootamundra) – 1922 to 1928 – hooker in almost all Coota’s matches during their golden era; died in 1950 after falling from an electric train in Sydney.
64 matches – Ron ‘Dookie’ Crowe (West Wyalong and Barmedman) – 1951 to 1971.  If he wasn’t so good we would have played more matches. Scores of representative games for group, region, NSW and Australia, as well as commuting to South Sydney during 1962, kept him away from many Maher Cup games.  The Cup petered out in the late 60s but ‘Dookie’ Crowe was still able and available for West Wyalong and Barmedman will beyond its demise. He retired from playing football well after the Maher Cup era, in 1978, aged 45.
64 matches – Bill Kearney (Young) – 1933 to 1946. If there was anyone who could be dubbed Mr Maher Cup it would be Kearney. His influence went well beyond being a player; as coach, broadcaster, club official, local government councillor and businessman. Kearney was a most effective captain and a deft kicker, who played and led during Young’s most successful footballing period. He was a big personality remembered by all, mightily respected, but not always loved.
64 matches – Jack Watson (Cootamundra) – 1924 to 1932 – consistently in-form winger in Coota’s glorious 1920s team; captain in 1931.
62 matches – Col Quinlan (Barmedman) – 1945 to 1966. Probably no-one played Maher Cup football over such a long period; from aged 16 to 37 (brother-in-law ‘Rusty’ Gorham comes close). The driving force within the feared Barmedman forward pack – dubbed the Clydesdales – ‘Guts’ Quinlan just kept playing on and on.   He collapsed and died while working on his farm in 1967.
57 matches – Les ‘Dade’ Quinlan (Cootamundra) – 1922 to 1927 – First Word War veteran and consistent Coota forward who didn’t play Maher Cup until aged 29. From a farming family at Yathella, he never married and quietly worked as a general hand at Cootamundra’s Sacred Heart Hospital for many years. He died in 1961.
55 matches – Phil Regan (Cootamundra) – 1922 to 1927 – from Glebe where he played first grade from 1911; wounded in the Great War; and probably the first paid player-coach in the bush when he took the Coota job, also aged 29.
55 matches – Eric Kuhn (Barmedman and Harden-Murrumburrah) – 1953 to 1968.  From a farming family at Weethalle in the mallee country, Eric was enticed to ignore the local club, West Wyalong, and play for Barmedman.  Under Keith Gittoes the littlest village in Maher Cup Country enjoyed a most successful Cup run in 1955 – with young Eric becoming a star half back.  In 1957 Harden started to build a powerful team and signed up the ‘The Mighty Atom’.  He was an essential ingredient in the most successful Maher Cup side ever.  Eric later coached teams at Harden, Murrumburrah, Galong and Bathurst. He and still resides in Harden.
55 matches – Garry Lanham (Harden-Murrumburrah and Cootamundra) – 1957 to 1966 – started Maher Cup football aged 17; partnered Nick Cullen in Harden’s second row during the ‘Hyphenates’ record run 1958-1960.
53 matches – Gordon Hinton (Cootamundra) – 1926 to 1932 – originally from Gunnedah played at Armidale before coming to Coota. He was also a boxer and swimmer; kidney injury limited his full potential. He made his career as a fireman in Sydney. Died in 1996, buried at Cootamundra. 
52 matches – Abe Hall (Young) – 1929 to 1941 – Sid’s little brother; another to start playing Maher Cup aged 16; died in 1950 in an industrial accident at Grenfell.
50 matches – Jack Kingston (Cootamundra and Young) – 1925 to 1932 – Coota international who toured with Weissel to play the English; also played at Young, Leeton, Kiama, Western Suburbs, Werris Creek and maybe elsewhere.
If you think you know someone who I’ve overlooked for the 50 Club tell me and I’ll tally them up as we now have almost complete teams for the 729 Maher Cup matches played.

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Complete List of Players

I have created a list of more than 3,300 people who have played for the Maher Cup.   I believe it includes more than 99% of players 1920-1971.  Often names are miss-spelled in newspaper reports. Frequently surnames only are printed.  Two newspapers covering the same match can produce differing player lists.  Match programs give the selected team, not the team that took to the field – so checking, expansion and correction of the data will be ongoing. Continue reading

The Real Old Boys of the Maher Cup

No matter how tough and physically damaging Maher Cup matches were there were many warriors who just kept on battling on, long after their ears had turned to cauliflowers.  A handful played for more than 20 seasons.

Below are a very select group of stoic stalwarts – men with a minimum of 18 seasons between their first and last Maher Cup matches. Continue reading

Peter Castrission Remembers “The Blooda Maher Cup”

Peter Castrission has contributed the following:

I am Vic Castrission’s nephew and I live in Canberra. I am 59 and a retired public servant so I still spend a lot of time in Gundagai. I would like to give you some information about the Niagara Cafe in Gundagai and my uncles and fathers involvement in Rugby League, Group Nine and the Maher Cup. Continue reading

Kevin’s Days in Harden

Kevin Day writes: On Fathers’ Day this year I was given the book ‘Uncommon Heroes’ by John Ellicott. I was particularly interested in the chapter on Group 9 and the history of the Maher Cup.
kevindayhouseIn 1959 I was working for the Electricity Commission of NSW.  We were building a wood pole transmission line from Murrumburrah to Boorowa.  I was sent from Sydney in late March to work there for 3 months at the construction depot.  I was 22 at the time. I was able to secure board with a Mrs Franklin and her grandson I think his name was Reg.  The house was at the entrance to the Murrumburrah Showground.

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Heroes On The Fringes of the Maher Cup : Brungle’s Digger Davis & Joe Nettup

Digger Davis & Joe Nettup

Like most men his age Tom Davis enlisted for the Great War.  In 1917 he fought on the Western Front, suffered from trench fever, influenza, scabies and finally was gassed just two months before the armistice.  He returned home in 1919 to be classified as “medically unfit” and to be now known in his community as “Digger” Davis. Nothing unusual there.

But Tom Davis was a non-citizen.  He was from the “mish”. He was in the language of the day, a darkie, an Abo.

Davis had enlisted at Cowra in January 1916 with a group of men from the Erambie reserve. Most of these eager recruits were discharged just a few months later as not being suitable due to their race.  Undeterred Tom Davis went over to Goulburn in October and  enlisted again.  The carnage in the trenches of the Western Front had by that time changed attitudes – anyone would do, and the army promptly shipped him off to France.

Tom Davis is fourthrow from the back, fifth from the right

Tom Davis is fourth row from the back, fifth from the right

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Stan Gibbs’ Memories of the Maher Cup Cootamundra 1938-1946

My memories of the Maher Cup are through the eyes of a young boy and teenager.

Before the War, my father took me on a pushbike to Fisher Oval where I saw my first match. When I was older, Dad and I spent the day in Young having travelled there by a special train. Young must have won that day, as I can vaguely remember the elation of Bill Kearney, the coach of the Young team. Continue reading